Cycle Your Heart Out & Let go in Hackney! Heart-Route 49

Heart-route 49 is all about letting go, and finding joy again. Letting go of someone, whilst also letting go and moving your body to the rhythm of your own soul.

I decided to celebrate Cycle Your Heart Out's 12th Birthday in London, after dancing my heart out with Ecstatic Dance UK at the Hackney Wick Sauna Baths...

Prefer to listen to Route 49 instead?
You can now pop me in your pocket or bicycle basket!
(Listen on Spotify,  Apple, Amazon, Google, Youtube or Soundcloud)

Have you ever woken up and forgotten what joy means?!

Letting go of someone can be painful, and can often erase the very concept of the word joy. It happened to me a while back, it was a scary place, but one I'm grateful for as it pushed me to write a list and explore all the things that make my heart sing. 

Eating my favourite olives, the scent of Jasmine, cycling my heart out with my dog Maya, and dancing freely with my eyes closed! Now on those days I wake without a smile, I always know exactly what I need to do.

I wanted to share a poem with you that I wrote at a time in my life when joy seemed impossible.

Do any of these words resonate with you? One line that really stood out was about needing to search my lungs for air.

Heartful cycling and dance helps you to breathe deeper into your belly, which can shift your nervous system from the Sympathetic to the Parasympathetic, moving you from a state of stress, to a more rested and peaceful state.

It can also bring you more into the present moment by getting you out of your head, and back into your body. You may feel a greater sense of clarity, making decisions may be a little easier, and joy may seem possible again.

Every heart route I create follows 5 simple steps, which I'm now going to share with you!

Step 1 - Follow your heart

This is all about getting really clear on what you want to dedicate your ride to. 

For route 49 I rode with my heartful cyclists, and soul sisters Nic and Natalie. After our dance we devoured our delicious pizza, then wrote our ride intentions on our pizza boxes...

Cycle Your Heart Out and Let go! 

What intention would you like to make? Take some time to journal what's on your heart, then try finishing the below sentence.

Cycle Your Heart Out _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Step 2 - Location 

Hackney Wick, London 

Where would you like to create your heart route? It can be somewhere you've longed to visit, or somewhere in your local area. Journal some places you'd like to create your heart route, and circle the one that your heart seems pulled to the most!

Step 3 - Create your Heart Route 

I found a London map amongst my huge map collection which has been slowly growing for the last 12 years. After realising that the Hackney baths is right next to Victoria Park, I decided to see if it was possible to create a heart route around it. 

Within less than 5 mins I had already spotted a tiny heart going right the way round Victoria Park and South Hackney. 

Remember your heart routes don't need to be perfect, and they can be as big or as small as you want, just try your best and follow your heart!

Step 4 - Cycle Your Heart Out 

Bike Hire - Santander Cycles: Gascoyne Road, Victoria Park.
It's empowering to say your intention as you ride your heart route, as it helps to remind you what your riding for, especially when you shout it out loud which is what we did on our route!
 
Highlights  

• Ecstatic Dancing at Hackney Wick Sauna Baths! Their pizza is also a must if you're ever there! It's also only a 7 min walk from Victoria park
• Well Street Common
• Pavilion Cafe Victoria Park - lovely views over the lake
• Victoria Park Chinese Pagoda
• The wide bicycle lanes all around Victoria Park!

What are some of your route highlights?

Step 5 - Spread the love

I want to thank Ecstatic Dance UK for helping me to find my joy again! I wrote this next poem on one of their Ecstatic Experiences Dance retreats in Embercombe, Devon.  

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A post shared by Sarah | Cycle Your Heart Out | Heartful Cycling Coach & Poet (@cycleyourheartout)

INNER RIDE QUESTION

What 1 thing can you do today to create more joy in your life?

I hope you enjoyed reading this post, to help you on your inner journey, I made you a NEW meditation called 'The Garden'. 

This guided visualisation meditation will help you create more peace, joy and compassion for yourself, others, and the world. A beautiful meditation based on my book 'Cycle Your Heart Out', and the well known 'Loving Kindness' Meditation.

If you'd like to become a heartful cyclist, click here to book a FREE call  with me. 

Cycle Your Heart Out and I'll speak to you soon!

Sarah x